Introducing OpenAI for Australia
TL;DR
OpenAI launches its first Asia-Pacific 'OpenAI for Countries' program in Australia, focusing on sovereign AI infrastructure with NEXTDC, upskilling 1.2+ million workers with CommBank/Coles/Wesfarmers, and accelerating local tech innovation through startup support.
Key Takeaways
- •OpenAI for Australia is the first Asia-Pacific 'OpenAI for Countries' program, aiming to boost economic growth through AI infrastructure, skills, and ecosystem development.
- •A partnership with NEXTDC will build sovereign AI infrastructure in Sydney, providing compute capacity for sensitive workloads and creating thousands of jobs.
- •OpenAI Academy will train over 1.2 million Australian workers and small businesses through collaborations with CommBank, Coles, and Wesfarmers, starting in 2026.
- •A startup program with Australian VCs offers API credits, mentorship, and workshops to accelerate local AI innovation, including an annual Founder Day event.
Tags
Today, we’re launching OpenAI for Australia, a nationwide initiative bringing OpenAI together with local partners to unlock the full economic and societal benefits of artificial intelligence across the country.
AI is a foundational technology with the potential to support growth, lift productivity, and fuel innovation. To help realize this vision, OpenAI will work with local partners through OpenAI for Australia—the first OpenAI for Countries program in the Asia Pacific region—to support sovereign AI infrastructure, upskill Australians, and accelerate Australia’s thriving local AI ecosystem.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said, “Australia is well placed to be a global leader in AI, with deep technical talent, strong institutions and a clear ambition to use new technology to lift productivity. Through OpenAI for Australia, we are focused on accelerating the infrastructure, workforce skills and local ecosystem needed to turn that opportunity into long-term economic growth.”
Building the next generation of sovereign AI infrastructure in Australia
OpenAI today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NEXTDC to develop a sovereign AI infrastructure partnership under the OpenAI for Australia program.
Through the MoU, OpenAI and NEXTDC will collaborate on the planning, development and operation of a next-generation hyperscale AI campus and large-scale GPU supercluster at NEXTDC’s S7 site in Eastern Creek, Sydney.
OpenAI intends to be an initial offtaker with the option to scale over time under the OpenAI for Countries program. This would provide Australia with the sovereign compute capacity needed to support sensitive and mission-critical workloads across government, enterprise, research and national infrastructure.
S7 is expected to deliver significant economic benefits, including multi-year construction activity supporting thousands of skilled and indirect jobs, long-term technical and operational roles in AI and digital infrastructure, expanded opportunities for Australian manufacturers, engineers and suppliers, accelerated AI adoption across industry and government, and strengthened STEM and AI-skills development pathways.
Upskilling Australians alongside CommBank, Coles, and Wesfarmers
OpenAI also today announced a new skills initiative, joining forces with CommBank, Coles and Wesfarmers—three of Australia’s largest employers and most trusted household names—to roll out essential AI skills training to more than 1.2 million Australian workers and small businesses.
AI represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lift Australia’s productivity, competitiveness and long-term economic growth. Realising that opportunity at scale depends not just on infrastructure, but on whether Australia’s workforce has the skills and confidence to use these tools in everyday work.
Through OpenAI Academy, OpenAI’s AI-literacy training platform designed to make foundational AI skills accessible to everyone, Coles and Wesfarmers will rollout tailored training programs to their entire workforces, equipping them with the practical skills they need to thrive in the AI era, while Commonwealth Bank will make their training modules available for 1 million small business customers across Australia.
OpenAI’s in-house team of AI experts will work closely with these organisations to develop bespoke learning modules tailored to real-world Australian use cases.
Nationwide rollout of OpenAI Academy courses, created with these three organisations, will begin in 2026, marking one of the largest coordinated AI-skills initiatives in Australia’s history.
CommBank CEO Matt Comyn said, “Small businesses are the backbone of Australia’s economy and the engine of our communities, but too many small business owners tell us they simply don’t have the time or confidence to explore how AI could help them. We want every small business to feel confident using digital technologies such as AI, whether they’re starting, running, or growing their business.”
Accelerating Australian tech innovation
From Canva to Atlassian to SafetyCulture, Australia is home to some of the biggest start-up success stories in global tech, producing more billion-dollar startups per VC dollar than any other country in the world.
We’re seeing that ingenuity show up in how quickly Australian businesses are adopting advanced AI and creating new products and services on top of our platform.
To accelerate Australia’s potential for home-grown innovation, OpenAI will launch its first startup program in Australia, delivered in partnership with leading Australian venture capital firms including Blackbird, Square Peg and AirTree.
Through this program, OpenAI will provide participating start-ups with up to USD $15,000 in API credits, technical mentorship from OpenAI engineers and global experts, and access to workshops on scaling, compliance and safety. Startups can also receive additional credits when they participate in technical workshops.
OpenAI is also launching an annual Founder Day in Australia to bring together the next generation of Australian entrepreneurs for hands-on product deep dives, demos and guidance as they build alongside OpenAI.